Science has found a way to fight heart disease and are taking the step towards clinical trials. Since heart failure results from the heart weakening and enlarging, scientists have decided to try to use gene therapy to shrink the heart, thus improving blood flow. Pigs that were infused with a gene called SUMO-1 showed remarkable improvement. The SUMO-1 was designed to regulate the calcium in the ventircle cells, and despite not fully knowing what causes the heart to grow big, this has proven to reverse the problem.
Any matter of the heart is dangerous territory, and this research may make it that much safer. If a person needs a heart transplant, this gene therapy could help them last long enough to get it. This isn't just for humans either. Animals can benefit from this research as well and heart disease in all species can be better controlled.
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